Grainswest - Spring 2019

Spring 2019 grainswest.com 31 DAVE CAREY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CANADIAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION Headed to Brock University from his home in Oakville, ON., Dave Carey anticipated a career in law. When his spouse landed a job in Ottawa, he made a bold enquiry with the local member of Parliament and landed a job in politics that led to his current role with the Canadian Seed Trade Association. Carey encourages urban folks to consider opportunities in agriculture, particularly related to the seed industry. Agriculture as an industry, he said, is here to stay. Agriculture is a noble calling that drives the economy while feeding the world, said Carey. “It is a great place to hang your hat every day. Seed is the microchip that powers the Canadian agriculture economy, employing one in eight people in a $109-billion industry. Seed is a $6-billion industry that employs 60,000 Canadians with [2016] exports of $600 million in seed, specifically for planting. Domestically, $2.2 billion in seed is sold.” LEE MARKERT GENERAL MANAGER, MARKERT SEEDS After high school, Lee Markert wasn’t sure he would stay on the family farm near Vulcan. He thought a business degree in management from the University of Lethbridge would set his career path. At the university, he added agricultural electives to his studies and interned in sales with a life sciences company. This combination of education and work experience broadened his view of the agriculture industry in Western Canada and gave him the career catalyst he sought. After graduation, he saw the tremendous production opportunities in his family’s pedigreed seed business in a new light and wanted to be part of it. He now exercises his passion for growing and processing high-quality, pedigreed seed as general manager of Markert Seeds. “I have always liked getting my hands dirty; plant seed one day, network the next, make sales by phone the next,” he said. “I have freedom and flexibility to spend time with family. It is a diverse job with lots of flexibility. Farming is in my blood, that’s what it boils down to.”